Actual number of jobless Filipinos only 69K: DOLE

In a Laging Handa briefing, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said this number of affected workers in the country are employed in 2,068 firms. (File photo by Ramon FVelasquez/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)

MANILA – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Wednesday clarified that the actual number of unemployed Filipinos is only a little over 69,000 from companies that have closed due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

In a Laging Handa briefing, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said this number of affected workers in the country are employed in 2,068 firms.

This is far from the 7.3 million unemployed Filipino based on the April Labor Force Survey released last week by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

“The 7.3 million is just a survey and it is not actual or factual,” Bello said.

He reiterated that the actual number of unemployed Filipinos is the figure from the DOLE.

The Labor Force Survey for April revealed that the unemployment rate is at 17.7 percent which translates to 7.3 million unemployed Filipinos, the highest since the 1998 recession in the country which saw a 10.3-percent unemployment rate.

Bello earlier said prior to the pandemic, “the Philippine employment situation was vibrant, expanding at 4.0 percent or 1.6 million net employment generated”.